A Highlander on the Rise

Matheus Montarroyos is an up and coming 21 year old distance swimmer from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil looking to make his debut for the NJIT Highlanders this swim season. He transferred from the University of West Virginia to NJIT last year. Due to NCAA transfer rules he spent most of his sophomore year assisting his teammates and coaches and overall just getting adjusted to the team environment. Not being able to competitively swim was the hardest part of the transferal process and took the most patience to get through.

He was slightly disappointed that he was not able to participate in swim meets and race with his teammates but viewed this obstacle as an opportunity to further hone his craft. Matheus spent the remainder of last season getting stronger and healthier in preparation for this year and is excited to finally start representing the Highlanders. Matheus is glad that he has adjusted easily to NJIT life as his teammates were extremely welcoming when he first got introduced and he is just extremely happy to be a part of this family-oriented program. He chose to come to NJIT looking to take advantage of the scholarships he received and the internship opportunities offered for his major of Mechanical Engineering. In fact, Matheus was able to take advantage of an NBC internship opportunity this very summer at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Matheus was able to assist the Organizing Committee of the Olympic & Paralympic Games as an event coordinator. In return he received free tickets to see one of his biggest Idols and the most decorated Olympian of all time: Michael Phelps. Matheus states that he was absolutely blown away by the dominant performance Phelps demonstrated in his final Olympic games.

Like Phelps, Matheus too started as a 100m/200m sprint swimmer before his coach suggested he try distance swimming. He quickly became extremely effective in this swim event and continued to become better and better. Matheus says that he got his star shine while swimming under coaches Fernando & Eduardo of the prestigious Brazilian Flamengo swim team. While swimming with this club, Matheus grew to love the pressure that came with having to perform at such a high level. He recalls training hard every day, practicing his techniques and getting stronger in the weight room. This work ethic he put forth allowed him to experience the highlight of his swim career, which he states was when he won the State Games in 2012. He believes the 2016 Highlander swim team has a great opportunity to accomplish some of the same things he did back in 2012. He is elated to get his start for NJIT and cannot wait to see what the new season unfolds.